NFL · AFC North · Est. 1933 · Acrisure Stadium
Updated March 17, 2026
The Steelers earned a Wild Card berth with a 10-7 record, but any optimism was obliterated by a 30-6 demolition at the hands of the Texans in the Wild Card round. Pittsburgh was outclassed in every phase of the game, and the embarrassing loss amplified the growing frustration around a franchise that has not won a playoff game since 2016.
Mike Tomlin extended his remarkable streak of never posting a losing record to 19 seasons, but the 30-6 Wild Card blowout laid bare the gap between making the playoffs and actually competing for a championship. The Steelers' inability to show up in January has become a pattern, and there is growing unrest among fans and media that the franchise has settled for mediocrity.
T.J. Watt put together another dominant season, but the Steelers' failure to build a complete roster around their superstar edge rusher is becoming impossible to ignore. Watt's window of elite play is finite, and Pittsburgh owes it to him to make aggressive moves this offseason to field a team capable of winning in the postseason.